Dissertation Research: The Role of Plant Parasitism in Community Structure

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9311301 Doak Unlike most plants which obtain water and nutrients from the soil and carbohydrates from photosynthesis, parasitic plant species obtain at least some of their water, nutrients, and carbohydrates by tapping into the vascular systems of other plant species. Despite their widespread occurrence, the role of parasitic plants in structuring plant and herbivore communities has received little attention from researchers. The proposed research will examine the role of nutrient, water, and secondary compound transfer from host plants to parasitic plants, and the effect of this transfer not only on the plant species, but also on the insect herbivores exploiting both the parasite and host plants. A series of field and greenhouse studies will 1) examine the effects of parasitic plants on their surrounding plant and herbivore communities and 2) compare the impacts and interactions of two types of plant predators, parasitic plants and herbivores, on host plant performance and plant community structure. This work will provide information on when and why parasitic plants exert significant effects in natural ecological communities and in agricultural settings, where several parasitic plants are economically important weeds. %%% More generally, this work will examine a complex parasite-host interaction from the viewpoint of its community-wide effects and its indirect interactions on other co-occurring species. *** INI P MOUSE SYS @ j ! x DOSAPP INI Vb 9311301 Doak Unlike most plants which obtain water and nutrients from the soil and carbohydrates from phot osynthesis, parasi & ( J L d i # ( F ( ( ( Times New Roman Symbol & Arial " h M eM e Doak/Marvier abstract Dissertation Elizabeth M. Behrens Elizabeth M. Behrens